Awkward Moments
by In The Beginning
Summary: The veterans were used to newcomers doing strange things. But everything Ike seemed to do resulted in strange glances and an awkward silence. Ikecentric. A more detailed explanation inside of what this exactly is.
1. Preventative Measures

(Hello, everyone! How's everyone doing?

Being both a Fire Emblem fanatic and a Smash freak, I was quite ecstatic to see that Ike was going to be in Brawl. After playing for about a month, I've finally worked up enough inspiration to write something!

What this is is a cross between a collection of oneshots and an official Ike-centric multichapter story with a disjointed plot. With that said, Ike is not usually _quite_ as clueless as I write him, and I apologize for OOC characters.

Let's begin.

All characters except Snake © Nintendo

Snake © Hideo Kojima)

* * *

Awkward Moments

Chapter One: Preventative Measures... Or Something Like That

* * *

"Oh, please. _Another_ one of you cheapskate swordsmen?"

The scathing comment was acknowledged only by a brief turn of the target's head, followed by a questioning glance.

"Yeah, you. What, aren't you man enough to fight on your own?"

Ike turned to fully face Captain Falcon, a plastic cup clutched loosely in his gloved hand as the bluenette stared at the sneering fighter.

"What? I thought swords were allowed in the tournament..." the newcomer began, his navy eyes reflecting his genuine naivety. "Was I wrong...?"

"Only sissy cowards use swords," boasted the veteran racer. "They can't rely on their own strength to sa--"

"Falcon, who are you heckling this time?" a female voice called out crossly, reaching the mens' ears seconds before its owner seemingly materialized at Ike's side. "Haven't you got something better to do with your time?"

"You have to be strong to be able to use a weapon," Ike frowned, the band around his head beginning to slip over his eyes. "If you haven't got the power, you won't be able to wield the weapon properly, and then it becomes usele--"

"Enough of that crap!" Captain Falcon scowled. "And you, Samus-- don't take sides on this! This has nothing to do with you!"

Samus rolled her eyes before sauntering off, searching for someone... _normal_ to talk to.

"You-- you think you're stronger than me?"

"Can _you_ lift this sword with one hand?"

"Then I challenge you to a battle, right now-- no weapons! Prove that you're as tough as you really are!"

"Don't be a fool, Falcon," Link chuckled, walking by just in time to overhear the challenge. "Look at him. He could probably crush you with one hand!"

"Alright. I'll accept your challenge."

Those four words cast a deafening silence across the room; not even the faintest whisper of astonishment escaped an amazed Smasher's lips.

"You... you seriously accept?" Falcon finally laughed.

"Yeah," Ike nodded again, seemingly oblivious to the potential danger.

"Alright then, let's go."

With confidence, Captain Falcon began striding towards the Arena...

"Hey, hold on! Where're you going?"

A sudden collective murmur shattered the silence as all eyes, including the challenger's, turned towards the swordsman, who had just set down his drink.

"I thought we were fighting! Where are you going? What's wrong with here?"

The murmur swelled into a cacophony of surprised gasps and excited, hushed gossip as Captain Falcon did a slight double-take.

But his surprise did not last long; he soon righted himself, approaching Ike with an overconfident smirk on his face.

"Fine, then," Falcon scoffed, stopping a few feet away from Ike. "Don't blame me if you wake up with a broken nose."

"I won't hold it against you," the swordsman smiled as a clearing quickly formed.

"Ready..." Fox called out, taking on the role of the referee. "Set... FIGHT!"

Like lightning, Captain Falcon's fist went flying towards Ike's face. It was barely dodged, but the sudden duck caused the defender to stumble backwards briefly. Without a pause, the punch was followed up by several more...

"This isn't fair," Peach commented to Zelda over the excited cheering of the other Smashers. "Captain Falcon is faster than all of us; Ike is just... slow. He doesn't have any time to react!"

"I agree," Zelda nodded, "but Ike _was_ the one who said to fight here--"

A collective cry of surprise startled the women into silence; immediately, they leaned over, trying to see what happened-- a difficult task with Donkey Kong in the way.

"Marth. Marth!" Zelda hissed, capturing the prince's attention. "What just happened?"

"Come over here and see for yourself!" he replied, sliding over to give the princess somewhere else to stand. Zelda hurried over, watching the fight--

Or rather, she stared at the result of the fight.

Blood trickled from small cuts across Ike's face; the swordsman held his side, grimacing slightly in pain as he slowly shook his left fist. A dark ring was already forming around his left eye; it wouldn't be long before it was completely black and swollen shut.

Yet he was the one still standing... and Captain Falcon was the one that lay sprawled out on the floor, unconscious, blood pouring from his badly broken nose.

As soon as the shock wore off, a throng of Smashers crowded around around their fellow fighter, speaking in excited, yet hushed, questions and musings.

Samus was the only one who took the initiative to ask Ike what, exactly, had happened in the brief, almost nonexistent interval of time between Falcon's final punch and Ike's finishing blow.

"Ike..." she began, almost afraid to ask. "What... how did you do that?"

Ike simply stared at the blonde woman, his blue eyes wide and innocent.

"I punched him."

"Yes, I see that--" Samus sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, that was a stupid question. _Why_ did you just suddenly punch him, and _how_ did you manage to hit him? His speed is--"

"His speed means nothing. He left himself open, and I took advantage of an opportunity," Ike explained patiently, picking up his drink and sipping slowly. "As for why I punched him... it was much easier than kicking him. I just wanted to end the fight before he hurt himself, that's all."

The blonde woman could only stare in disbelief as Ike slowly shuffled off, still loosely clutching his side.

"...before he hurt _himself_... _Riiiiight_..."

* * *

(End chapter one.

So, Ike's logic confuses Samus. That's okay; Ike's logic confuses me too.

The next chapter will be up... hopefully soon. It depends on my workload.

If anyone has ideas for pairings, I'll listen; but keep in mind I may refuse to do it for personal reasons, or because it may interfere with the slowly developing plot.

Please review.)


	2. An Easy Target

(Okay, just... wow. You guys are all like. Amazing. Thank you so much for the reviews!

With the support you've all given me so early in the game, it makes me sad that I won't be able to grant some pairing requests. 8xGot it memorizedx8 and Alina, I have plans for later chapters that make it nearly impossible for me to do ZeldaxIke and LinkxSamus.

Although now I'm getting ideas for two oneshots. Hmm...

I don't know if she really is, but I say Samus is a bounty hunter because of the one event match from Melee.

Let's begin.

All characters © Nintendo)

* * *

Awkward Moments

Chapter Two: An Easy Target, It Seems

* * *

Morning came largely unannounced to Smash Mansion; only the faded orange light of the slowly rising sun gave any hint that the day was beginning.

Only the light and a certain Smasher's stealth operations, that is.

Samus' door slowly creaked open before her head poked out; stealing a quick glance, the bounty hunter confirmed that no men-- or more specifically, no racers wearing helmets-- were wandering down the hall.

Satisfied with her brief exploration, Samus dared to step out in the hall, already fully dressed in her zero suit and ready to slip down to the kitchen--

"Samus? What are you doi--"

Panic seized the bounty hunter; fear was the only reason that she spun around, her fist flying towards the man's throat--

Her punch connected with amazing force; Samus could only stare in shock as Ike collapsed, clutching his throat as he gasped for breath.

"Ohhhh... _shit!_" she suddenly shrieked, kneeling by Ike's side as the swordsman struggled to stop coughing. "Ike, are you alright?!"

Ike's lips moved, but no distinctive sound came forth; his breaths became more labored as his skin grew ashen, the vibrant glow of his eyes beginning to fade...

"No, no, _no!_ You are _not_ going to pass out! C'mon, Ike, brea--!"

His hands slowly fell to his sides, his eyes closing as his panicked breaths slowed...

"_Shit!!_"

* * *

With the help of Zelda and Marth, Samus was able to get Ike down to the hospital wing. Though the bounty hunter's powerful punch had nearly killed the innocent swordsman, his prompt arrival ensured that he would recover with no lasting damage.

Consumed by guilt, Samus stayed by Ike's bedside, refusing to leave until he regained consciousness. She wanted to be there when he woke up, so that she would remember to apologize for her unnecessary act of violence.

Considering the ferocity of her attack, she didn't have to wait long; about an hour later, Ike let out a soft groan, slowly opening his dusky blue eyes once again.

"Oh my god, Ike, I'm sorry!" Samus quickly exclaimed, relief flooding over her. "Are you alright?"

The faintest of whispers escaped Ike's lips; the blonde woman struggled to hear him over the white noise of the ventilation system.

"...m'fine. You didn't... have... t'pologize... I know you didn't... mean it..."

Samus couldn't help but smile briefly.

"Just making sure you knew. ...are you going to be okay?"

The bluenette swordsman responded with an almost imperceptible nod.

"Not th'... first time I've been... punched in th' throat... by a girl..."

Though she could have taken offense to that statement, Samus instead chose to stare disbelievingly at Ike.

"Not the-- ...Ike, what kind of life do you _lead_ at home?"

Ike smiled.

* * *

(End chapter two.

Slight sentence change due to Epona964's suggestion, as the original sentence was indeed slightly awkward. Thanks to Epona64 for catching that!

Short chapter, but we learn that Ike gets victimized in the cutscenes they _don't_ show in Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn. Poor Ike...

In two chapters, there's going to be an actual battle! Won't that be exciting?! I can already hear the audience chanting for Falcon!

...wait, what?

Please review!)


	3. Innocent Victim

(Samus' punches are so strong because she practices on Captain Falcon.

To say that my other story has devoured my soul would be an understatement; however, the small apart of me it left alone is here with another chapter to share!

It begins as a flashback to Ike's... interesting past. There is really no other way to say it.

Let's begin.

All characters © Nintendo)

* * *

Awkward Moments

Chapter Three: An Innocent Victim of Peculiar Circumstances

* * *

_"Fatheeeeer! Ike hurt meeeee!"_

_"I did __**not!**__"_

_Greil turned at the fearful cry of his four-year-old daughter and the defensive yell of his ten-year-old son. The siblings quickly ran towards him, both eager for him to dispense what they thought would be justice..._

_"Alright, what happened here?" he asked, his powerful voice striking a slight sense of fear into the hearts of the children._

_"Father, I was climbing that tree outside, 'cause Ike promised to catch me if I fell down," Mist began, her cerulean eyes now red with tears. "And then I fell and got hurt-- see! I got my arm and knee all cut!"_

_Eagerly, she displayed her war wounds-- faint scratches that had already almost finished bleeding._

_"And then I looked for Ike, and he was talking to Soren," she continued, "and he said he never promised to catch me! It's all his fault!"_

_"That's a __**lie!**__" Ike snapped, his navy eyes burning fiercely. "Father, I was talking to Soren outside, trying to get him to tell me what he was reading, when I heard Mist crying really loudly. I looked over and saw her by the tree, so I ran to her and asked what was wrong, and she started blaming me for not keeping my promise! I never promised her anything-- I thought she was still inside the whole time!"_

_"Liar!"_

_"Brat!"_

_"Meanie!"_

_"You want me to show you how mean I can be?!"_

_"That's enough, both of you!" Greil snapped, quickly silencing his children. "If I hear you two argue anymore, I'll ground both of you for the rest of the year."_

_"...sorry, Father."_

_"Sorry, Father..."_

_Briefly, the mercenary pondered over the undoubtedly misrepresented information his daughter and son had presented to him, deciding which set of facts seemed most reasonable..._

_"...Ike, kneel down."_

_Confused, the young boy fell to one knee..._

_"Mist, you may hit your brother one time, and one time only."_

_"__**What?!**__ Father, I--"_

_"Quiet, boy, or __**I'll**__ be the one hitting you," Greil interrupted, his dark eyes narrowed slightly. "I am more inclined to believe what you sister has said, as you have not exactly stood by her side whenever she needed you. Therefore, you will take it like a man and say nothing."_

_Mist quickly turned to face her brother, clenching her small fists as she looked into her brother's eyes..._

_-Go ahead and hit me,- Ike thought, nearly scoffing aloud at his sister. -You can't do anything to me--_

_His musings were quickly interrupted by a surprisingly strong blow to his throat._

_"ACK!"_

_Ike collapsed, clawing at his throat as frantic wheezes escaped his lips; Mist stared at her brother in horror as Greil couldn't help but begin to laugh._

_"Father, I-- I __**killed**__ him! I didn't mean to--"_

_"Calm down, Mist," the mercenary chuckled, kneeling by his son's side. "Ike's not dying. Though you __**did**__ hit him pretty hard..."_

_"I-I'm sorry, Ike...!"_

_Ike made no reply as he desperately tried to breathe, starting to thrash his legs in panic..._

_"Stop that," Greil ordered. "You're wasting your energy. Calm down and breathe, Ike."_

_The young boy quickly obeyed; eventually, his breathing returned to normal, and his hurried breaths became slow and steady once more._

* * *

"Your father _laughed?_"

"Well, yeah. He had an... interesting idea of what defined funny."

Samus couldn't help but shake her head as she and Ike walked down the halls, headed to the dining room for breakfast.

"...what about your sister? It sounds like she was traumatized..."

"Oh, not at all," Ike replied. "Next week, she was back to blaming me for things I didn't do, trying to get me into trouble."

The bounty hunter chuckled lightly.

Thank you for confirming my fears, Ike."

"Hm? What did I do, now?"

"Well, I was afraid that there were more like you..."

The mercenary smiled.

"Would you be even more terrified if I told you I was the normal one in my family?"

"Oh, God..."

Laughter echoed down the halls.

* * *

(End chapter three.

So, the Fire Emblem fans find out that Mist was actually quite violent as a child. Shock!

There isn't much to say, other than for those who don't know... Greil is huge. I mean huge. Like, he's got muscles on his muscles.

For crying out loud, he has an axe that's almost as tall as Ike!

Please review!)


End file.
